北京大学与中国计算机事业的拓荒史 （连载之七）

（注3：The previously mentioned “ILLIAC I” supposedly means the “first von Neumann architecture computer” being built and owned by an American university. It was put into service on September 22, 1952. The computer was based upon plans published by von Neumann, Eckert, and Mauchly at Princeton, but the Princeton computer was completed exceedingly late. Using the von Neumann architecture from Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), the Princeton’s computer is claimed of having been built with 2,800 vacuum tubes and weighed about 5 tons. In contrast, the “ILLIAC I” was believed of having a 5k main memory and 64k drum memory. Also, according to the information released, people are given the impression that the “ILLIAC I” had gradually gained more “computing” power; and its power, by 1956, surpassed all computers in Bell Labs combined. As a comparison, the UK, the origin of inventing theoretical computers so called “Turing machines”, is claimed of building its first computer “Manchester 1” in 1948 by Manchester University. On the other hand, at present, ORDVAC was said being the first of two computers built under contract at the University of Illinois. ORDVAC was delivered to US Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds in the spring of 1951 and checked out in the summer. As part of the contract, funds were provided to the University of Illinois to build a second identical computer known as the “ILLIAC I”. It is worth of mentioning in passing, the “ILLIAC I” was decommissioned in 1963, when “ILLIAC II” became operational. The other point deserves an attention is that “ILLIAC” was regarded as the name given to a series of supercomputers built at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This series, in all, 5 were known having been built between 1951 and 1974. However, the most present one in the series is called the “ILLIAC VI” and its design is said starting in early 2005. ）